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A wave of outrage over the seven- to 10-year sentences imposed by an Egyptian court this week upon three Al-Jazeera journalists, including Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, is sweeping through international media.

Also troubling many is Egypt’s extended detention without charge of Khaled al-Qazzaz, an adviser to the toppled Morsi government who has Canadian permanent resident status and is said to be in deteriorating health.

Recently elected President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has made it clear there will be no presidential pardon for the three journalists, who were sentenced on charges linked with terrorism — accusations widely condemned as spurious. They have the possibility of appeal but would likely spend months behind bars before the cases came to court.

The Canadian government has drawn fire for what some observers see as a failure to speak out strongly enough against the sentences.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper later told reporters that the “Egyptian authorities are very aware of the position of the government of Canada and we will continue to press that position.”

Expert opinion is divided on what Canada or other Western countries could do to get the journalists released.

“My sympathies and support are with those journalists,” said emeritus professor Henry Habib of Concordia University. “But they are caught in a conflict between Cairo and the Al-Jazeera network.”

Al-Jazeera, Habib said, is seen by many Middle Eastern governments as “the mouthpiece of Qatar,” the Gulf state where it is based.

But international press freedom organizations maintain the three were arrested for simply doing their jobs as non-partisan journalists.

Ahmed Morsy, an expert in Egypt’s military economy and a non-resident associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said infighting between oil-rich Gulf states is complicating the trio’s plight.

Since then, some 16,000 suspected Brotherhood sympathizers have been arrested and 183 sentenced to death in mass trials.

“The Saudi and United Arab Emirates camp is keeping the Egyptian government alive,” Morsy said, pointing out that Gulf aid and investment has rescued Cairo from a desperate financial crisis that has seen a dramatic drop in foreign investment, tourism and the Egyptian pound.

But the authoritarian allies are unlikely to plead the cause of a free press and improved human rights, said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch.

Both Canada’s mild reaction to the journalists’ sentences and the U.S.’s decision to go ahead with a $575-million military aid package at a time of soaring rights abuses in Egypt were “disappointing,” said Stork, who believes Canada should do more to defend Fahmy.

“Withdrawing Canada’s ambassador (to Egypt) would be a strong statement,” Stork said. “Being very principled in what you say is important. Even withdrawing the ambassador for a week sends the message.”

Michele Dunne, of the Carnegie Endowment, said that after watching similar cases over the years, she has seen that pressure from Western governments can indeed help free imprisoned citizens.

“If they want to keep it on the agenda, they must do so clearly. Otherwise there will be the tendency for it to disappear in Egypt,” Dunne said. “Sustained pressure, much of it brought privately, as well as public criticism, can help to get the journalists’ sentences overturned on appeal.”

Canada may have to set out “consequences” for Egypt in diplomatic discussions, she said.

According to government figures, Canada’s overall trade with Egypt is minimal, but it imports about $450 million a year from that country and Cairo is eager to increase sales. Bad publicity also prevents a desperately needed rebound of investment and tourism.

“Canada may not have strong economic ties with Egypt but it has a reputation in the world,” said Middle Eastern expert Bessma Momani of the University of Waterloo. “If Canada shows it has no confidence, investors will be scared away.”

Though Baird has said that “bullhorn diplomacy” would not be effective in gaining the release of the journalists. Momani believes “the less noise, the more beneficial it is to Cairo if they continue the abuse and mistreatment and the failure of due process.”

The conditions which the imprisoned men face are dire, warned Nadia Abu-Zahra of the University of Ottawa, who recently testified about Egypt before a House of Commons committee.

Fahmy has an untreated broken shoulder, Abu-Zahra said, and “Qazzaz has also lost the use of one arm. He has high blood pressure. It is frightening to think what may happen to them.”

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